And now, having had a peek at a slightly wider view of the world, please get out there and vote. The options are rarely great but if you’ve done your research, you’ll know the pros and cons of each candidate well, and can make a properly informed decision for a change. When we see the bigger picture, we become less susceptible to manipulation…
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Or, a parent’s work is never done. Please click here to read in full
Pic: With her “all-time bestest friend”
“So what’s my criteria for bonafide buddies (ask yourself the same Q and you might find your life satisfactorily simplified)? I had an interesting exchange with writer Hanif Kureishi on social media more than a decade ago, when I was new to Facebook and he wasn’t (or was just inherently wiser). He insisted it was impossible to make genuine friends on social media and I scoffed at this, naively believing back then to have found whole hordes of them. After over a decade of middling and unfortunate experiences on platforms I can no longer be bothered to frequent, I recognise that the Buddha of Suburbia was spot on…”
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There are hundreds of entries already in, and if you are interested in participating, there are a few days left before the deadline! Please click here for the details and what Shreya as Head Judge hopes to find in the stories sent in, as well as about her long and varied writing career in an interview taken by New Writers UK
Photo and caption by Olivia Rose Barns, Shreya is holding her collection of short stories, ‘Strange’ (aka. ‘Strange:Stories’), published by HarperCollins in 2019
Over Christmas 2024, a British and a South African professor from the University of Durham (est.1832) and the University of Bath, discovered Shreya’s debut book ‘Memoirs of My Body’ (HarperCollins 2017) and decided to devote a whole episode of their Feminist Sports Lab book club vodcast to its exploration.
Professor Stephen Mumford, Head of Philosophy at Durham University, and Dr Sheree Bekker, Professor in the Department for Health at the University of Bath, authors of several successful books, talk about Shreya’s first book and its “incredible feminist writing” in an insightful, easy yet scholarly conversation. In their introduction to their discussion of the book, they have said:
“In this episode of FSL Book Club, Sheree Bekker and Stephen Mumford dive into Shreya Sen-Handley’s bold and evocative book, Memoirs of My Body. They discuss how this deeply personal memoir explores themes of identity, self-expression, and the evolving relationship we have with our bodies. Through candid storytelling and cultural critique, Sen-Handley’s work challenges societal norms and celebrates the power of self-acceptance. Sheree and Stephen reflect on the book’s impact, sharing their own insights on its relevance to body image, autonomy, and liberation. If you’re curious about the intersections of culture, feminism, and personal growth, this conversation is for you.”
She had this to say afterwards, “Lovely to get a thank you note from the National Literacy Trust, about my involvement with the Women in Leadership programme — ‘Your contribution definitely made a difference to the young people there!’. Even lovelier was the on-the-day feedback from the hundred (or so) young delegates who declared that they found my words and career “inspiring” and came across after the talk to chat some more about work and life (and book and film recommendations)! A thought-provoking and rewarding event, run by Lancôme and the National Literacy Trust.”
Out in several popular Indian broadsheets this week, please click here to read in full
“Awards more fitting, I promise you, than the outrageous annual payments they gift themselves (do I smell a Muskrat or is that $56bn in ill-gotten gains?), or the made-much-of awards that are handed out like party favours amongst the One Per Cent. These poor little rich prats might have cornered the world’s resources, but have they got what they truly deserve? NO, but I’m not that bitch Karma, sadly, so I can’t deliver just desserts.
Yet, ask yourself, what do you give someone who has EVERYTHING? Here are six prizes so perfect for avaricious fat cats and ruthless despots that they’ve never even considered them…”
Image of Kanchenjunga, world’s third highest peak, by Stephen Handley in 2024
Shreya writes a monthly column for several widely circulated international newspapers, in this penultimate one for 2024, written just after Trump’s re-election and her own trip to the Himalayas, she puts forward a plan to protect our mental health, save the planet and survive Trump. To read it in full, please click here
Shreya Sen-Handley 